SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets is putting a face to the local name with the launch of "Your Neighbors, Our Farmers," a new marketing campaign featuring black and white photographs of 13 of Weis' long-term local growers and their families. The photos will be displayed in produce departments, on billboards, in weekly circulars and on Weis' website.
The growers are shown as a group, or individually with playful headlines. In one, Pennsylvania potato farmer Helen Masser is pictured standing in a sunny field with her arms crossed next to the headline, “Plays Dirty.” A blurb describes her location, specialty and family farming history, and guarantees that potatoes she sends to Weis are pressure washed and cleaned.
"It is now peak season for local produce in our five state market area. For 99 years and counting, we've been purchasing and selling local produce because it offers the quality our customers have come to expect from us," David J. Hepfinger, president and chief executive officer of Weis Markets, in a release. "It also helps us conserve resources and benefits the economies of the states where we operate. This year, we are proud to highlight the contributions of thirteen farmers and their families, some of whom have been supplying us for more than 40 years."
Weis said that it will buy more than 24 million pounds of local produce in 2011 from approximately 150 Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
